The Korea Entertainment Producers Association Criticize SM Entertainment’s Current Management And Express Support For Lee Soo Man
As the feud between SM Entertainment and founder Lee Soo Man ensues, the Korean Entertainment Producers Association (KEPA) has stepped up to give their two cents. KEPA expressed their firm support for Lee Soo Man, reprimanding the current management of SM Entertainment.
To the current management of SM Entertainment who are destroying the Hallyu legacy, stop these ugly exposés immediately.
This is the second time KEPA, chaired by Lim Baek Woon with 440 agencies under its membership, is expressing its position on the matter by gathering the opinions of its producers as we watch over the ugly exposé battle created by the irresponsible current SM Entertainment management.
Just like in our first statement, we think that SM Entertainment and its founder Lee Soo Man, is an iconic company that pioneered and created the legacy of Hallyu K-Pop. Lee Soo Man founded the company in early 1990 and pioneered the idol group and management system in 1996, seeing the successes of H.O.T, followed by BoA, TVXQ, Girls’ Generation, and Shinhwa, creating the legend of Hallyu K-Pop. He is the legendary pioneer that properly put Korea on the map as a cultural powerhouse when we were on the periphery of culture.
Our music producers know very well that the current success and name of SM Entertainment was not only made possible by money and effort. Because of that, we cannot simply stand by with heavy hearts, watching on as the current management who have taken over the management rights engage in a mud fight and destroy the Hallyu legacy in just a day.
— KEPA
The KEPA calls out Lee Sung Soo for his hypocrisy despite having risen due to nepotism.
In addition, I would like to ask Lee Soo Man’s nephew-in-law Lee Sung Soo, who started all this matter, who has been able to be promoted at a high-speed to the position of co-CEO, thanks to Lee Soo Man’s halo. Just what has he contributed up to now to the current SM Entertainment? If he had an ounce of a conscience, or if he even had a normal mindset, would he be able to betray [Lee Soo Man] childishly? Did he not think that his impudent betrayal is not simply an ordinary fight about management rights but also has a significant effect on Hallyu? I can’t help but ask that.
What angers our producers is that the decades-long Hallyu legacy of SM Entertainment is collapsing overnight, and that Lee Soo Man, who has established himself as a global leader, is facing betrayal and plotting, as well as the irresponsible exposés accompanied by sophistry that brings about dishonor, as carried out by his nephew-in-law. It makes us sad, and we feel that it is a pity, so we cannot hold back.
In addition, co-CEO Tak Young Joon and CFO Park Joon Young, who have instigated employees to turn their backs on producer Lee Soo Man under the guise of saving the company with Lee Sung Soo, should all kneel down and apologize to Lee Soo Man, who trusted and raised them. These three drove out the founder and made it out to the employees that it was like a father had abandoned his children and sold out the company. Their shameless claims are going to cause the sky to collapse with how ridiculous they are. And now, this messy affair has reached even foreign waters where false news is being reproduced.
— KEPA
The KEPA continued to credit the spread of K-Wave and the growth in the cultural power of Korea to Lee Soo Man and his legacy.
It was possible because of the pioneering spirit and creativity of a human cultural asset such as Lee Soo Man that we can stand as a world cultural powerhouse. In the process where Lee Soo Man and SM Entertainment were at the center of pioneering the Korean Wave, there’s bound to have been some management mistakes, big or small. However, these are dependent on the point of view where it is viewed. But, the recent indiscriminate and self-centered arguments by Lee Sung Soo have crossed the line and can only be seen as hypocritical. Like an invading army, he is trying to occupy the founder’s office and sell the subsidiaries while continuing to release exposé attacks via YouTube—these acts of deprivation and greed all run counter to Hallyu’s pioneering spirit. We hope that if Lee Sung Soo’s actions are as righteous and honorable as he claims, he will stop hiding behind his security personnel and come out in to the world. A CEO of such as massive agency as SM Entertainment should never be hiding behind a YouTube channel as an exposé battle continues.
Just as the large shareholder HYBE has revealed, one can simply take internal actions to block any wrong governance structures. If there are suspicions towards the management, it can be checked on internally and solved with the right proceedings. Not everyone in the world needs to know about the internal problems of SM Entertainment. As Lee Sung Soo mentioned, if it is truly not greed but for the sake of SM Entertainment, then we hope that he will stop his shameful exposés immediately.
If he continues to believe in his ties [to Lee Soo Man] as his nephew-in-law, turning the management rights that Lee Soo Man entrusted to him into a weapon, disrupting the ecosystem of the financial market and cultural entertainment industry and spreading evil greed, the KEPA will not sit by.
— KEPA
The feud began when Lee Soo Man contested the legitimacy of the sale of stocks by SM Entertainement to Kakao. As the fight grew, other stakeholders such as HYBE were brought in. Read more about the matter below.
